Electric lift

AeroVironment (Stand N5-202) has introduced two electric rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, the newest additions to the Vapor family of systems that the company absorbed into its portfolio when it acquired Pulse Aerospace in June.

The new Vapor 35 variant with a gross take-off weight of 32lb, and the Vapor 55 with 55lb, were developed at the company's innovation centre based in Lawrence, Kansas, a facility established to focus on VTOL UAV developments and what was formerly a Pulse Aerospace site.

Vapor 35 is based on a three-blade rotor design and includes high-energy lithium-polymer batteries that provide up to one hour of flight time.

Vapor 55, on the other hand, has a 10lb payload capacity that can be mounted to the belly or side of the vehicle or slung underneath. In addition to carrying sensors, this can include a drop mechanism, so the UAV can be used for cargo delivery.

Automatically operated, the UAV can fly missions without operator intervention, AeroVironment says, and possible payloads include gimballed electro-optical/ infrared, survey grade post-processing kinematic mapping, LIDAR and hyperspectral sensors. All Vapor UAVs are powered by the HeliSynth command and control technology.

AeroVironment says the availability of multiple Vapor variants − it also comes in a 15 model − offers flexibility to customers so they can select the configuration they need for their particular requirements.